Jupiter European Opportunities Trust PLC
Interim Management Review for the three months ended 28 February 2010
The Board of Jupiter European Opportunities Trust PLC (the "Company") is pleased
to announce its interim management review for the quarter ended 28 February
2010.
During the period from 1 December 2009 to 28 February 2010, the Company's net
asset value per share excluding income and expenses rose by 8.6 per cent. to
228.68p, which compares with a decline of -0.6 per cent. for the Company's
benchmark, the FTSE World Europe ex UK Total Return Index, over the same
period.
Investment Manager's Report for the Quarter Ended 28 February 2010
In the period under review global equity markets continued their upward trend,
making modest sterling returns on further evidence of improving economic
conditions. However, the euro remained under pressure as Greece's sovereign debt
problem remained unresolved.
Against this backdrop the Company's strong performance can be attributed to
effective stock picking. The most significant contributions came from our
healthcare exposure. Strong full year results and a positive outlook statement
helped push the shares of diabetes care group Novo Nordisk to an all time high.
Novozymes, the world leader in enzymes, was another outstanding performer due to
strong results and good news flow. The US is likely to increase the amount of
ethanol used to supplement gasoline. Most fuel ethanol comes from sugar and
maize but Novozymes is developing enzymes that convert any vegetal matter into
the solvent thus reducing demands on arable land.
Other strong performances came from seismic survey provider CGG Veritas and the
TV and cable broadcasting company Modern Times Group. Our holding in Aixtron
(manufacturer of machines that make light emitting diodes) detracted modestly
from performance. We remain positive on the growth prospects for this company
and took the opportunity to add to our position.
During the period under review, we reduced borrowings from £35 million to £27
million on £215 million of net assets.
We remain positive about the outlook for our companies. Midway through the
fourth quarter earnings reporting season, the majority of our companies have
continued to exceed analysts' expectations.
Alex Darwall
Fund Manager, Jupiter Asset Management Limited
Total Assets as at 28 February 2010: £183,810,476
Shares in Issue on 28 February 2010: 80,379,523
+------------+----------------------+----------------------+----------+--------+
|Â |Net Asset Value per |Net Asset Value per |Market |Discount|
| |share excluding |share including |Price (p) | |
| |income/expenses(p) |income/expenses(p) | | |
+------------+----------------------+----------------------+----------+--------+
|Ordinary |228.68 |229.00 |193.25 |(15)% |
|Shares* | | | | |
+------------+----------------------+----------------------+----------+--------+
Portfolio Distribution on 28 February 2010 Percentage of Total Assets
Country %
United Kingdom 26
France 21
Denmark 18
The Netherlands 13
Germany 12
Sweden 9
Switzerland 8
Norway 6
Others 3
Cash and fixed interest (16)
 100
The Company's exposure to other UK listed investment companies was nil on 28
February 2010.
Top Ten Holdings on 28 February 2010
Company Country of Listing %
Novozymes Denmark 6.8
Novo-Nordisk Denmark 6.8
Neopost France 6.5
Experian United Kingdom 6.4
Croda International United Kingdom 5.9
Johnson Matthey United Kingdom 5.6
Syngenta Switzerland 5.2
Elsevier The Netherlands 5.1
Koninklijke Vopak The Netherlands 4.9
Modern Times Sweden 3.8
  _____
57.0
Comparative Performance to 28 February 2010
+------------+---------+---------+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Â |1 Month %| 3 Months| 1 Year| 3 Years| 5 Years| Since| Since|
| | | %| %| %| %| Launch %| Last|
| | | | | | | | Annual|
| | | | | | | | Report %|
+------------+---------+---------+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Total | 6.9| 8.6| 75.5| 14.9| 69.8| 110.7| 40.9|
|Assets* | | | | | | | |
+------------+---------+---------+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|FTSE World | | | | | | | |
|Europe ex UK| Â | Â | Â | | | | Â |
|Index | 2.7| (0.6)| 49.9| 1.8| 49.5| 35.6| 20.7|
+------------+---------+---------+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Ordinary | | | | | | | |
|Share NAV | 6.9| 8.6| 75.5| 14.9| 76.2| 141.6| 40.9|
+------------+---------+---------+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
|Ordinary | | | | | | | |
|Share Price | 5.7| 5.7| 89.5| (0.3)| 57.4| 90.4| 40.0|
+------------+---------+---------+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------+
*Adjusted for changes to share capital in September & October 2002, March &
April 2003, May & July 2007, October 2008, February 2009 and March 2009 and
changes to amounts borrowed.
OBJECTIVE OF THE COMPANY
The objective of the Company is to invest in securities of European companies
and in sectors or geographical areas which are considered by the investment
manager to offer good prospects for capital growth, taking into account economic
trends and business development.
INVESTMENT POLICY
The Investment Manager adopts a stock picking approach in the belief that a
thorough analysis and understanding of a company is the best way to identify
long-term superior earnings prospects. This understanding begins with
identifying those companies where the ownership structure and incumbent
management are conducive to the realisation of the aim of achieving superior
long-term earnings growth. The Investment Manager will seek to identify
companies which enjoy certain key business characteristics including some or all
of the following:
_ a strong management record and team, and the confidence that the Investment
Manager has in that management's ability to explain and account for its actions;
_ proprietary technology and other factors which indicate a sustainable
competitive advantage;
_ a reasonable expectation that demand for companies' products or services will
enhance long-term growth; and
_ an understanding that structural changes are likely to benefit that company's
prospects rather than have a negative impact on them.
It is intended that the Company will have some exposure to most of the major
sectors of the European economy. There may be sectors which do not enjoy the
business characteristics described above and in such circumstances the
Investment Manager will seek to identify companies that are expected to generate
superior earnings growth within that sector.
In analysing potential investments, the Investment Manager will employ differing
valuation techniques depending on their relevance to the business
characteristics of a particular company. However, the underlying feature will be
the sustainability and growth of free cash-flow in the long-term.
Material Events
During the period under review the Company purchased for cancellation the
following shares:
+------------------+------------------+------------------------------+
| Date | Number of shares | Price Paid Per share (pence) |
+------------------+------------------+------------------------------+
| 4 February 2010 | 115,000 | 185.087 |
+------------------+------------------+------------------------------+
| 5 February 2010 | 150,000 | 184.000 |
+------------------+------------------+------------------------------+
| 8 February 2010 | 100,000 | 182.500 |
+------------------+------------------+------------------------------+
| 8 February 2010 | 65,000 | 184.250 |
+------------------+------------------+------------------------------+
| 9 February 2010 | 35,000 | 182.000 |
+------------------+------------------+------------------------------+
| 16 February 2010 | 125,000 | 186.000 |
+------------------+------------------+------------------------------+
Since the period end the Company purchased for cancellation the following
shares:
+--------------+------------------+------------------------------+
| Date | Number of shares | Price Paid Per share (pence) |
+--------------+------------------+------------------------------+
| 7 April 2010 | 275,000 | 212.000 |
+--------------+------------------+------------------------------+
| 9 April 2010 | 130,000 | 214.000 |
+--------------+------------------+------------------------------+
Availability of Monthly Fact Sheets
Monthly fact sheets for the Company are available for download from
www.jupiteronline.co.uk <
http://www.jupiteronline.co.uk/> and by post or fax on
request from the company secretarial department.
The Company's Ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the
prices are published in the Financial Times and The Times under `Investment
Companies'.
The Net Asset Values of the Company's ordinary shares are calculated weekly and
can be viewed on the London Stock Exchange website at
www.londonstockexchange.com <
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/> (under the
heading 'Market News').
For further information, please contact:
Richard Pavry
Director of Investment Trusts
Jupiter Asset Management Limited
rpavry@jupiter-group.co.uk <mailto:rpavry@jupiter-group.co.uk>
020 7314 4822
Jenny Thompson
Company Secretarial Department
Jupiter Asset Management Limited
jthompson@jupiter-group.co.uk <mailto:jthompson@jupiter-group.co.uk>
020 7314 5565
The Company's Registered office is at 1 Grosvenor Place, London SW1X 7JJ.
This interim management statement has been prepared solely to provide
information to meet the requirements of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure
and Transparency Rules.
[HUG#1404288]
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